WHEEEEEE! Hello, my fellow readers! I am back with a new chapter!
Luke is now on a mission to find Obi-Wan with Anakin, but when they arrive on Felucia, they run into some trouble.
-CW-
"This isn't good." Anakin uttered, breaking the heavy silence that hung over the two. Luke twisted himself in his seat to see what had caught his Father's eye. They had
just dropped out of hyperspace and were just about to reach Felucia when Anakin had spoken. Peering over the control panel, Luke found that it was heavily barricaded.
A blockade.
"Those are the Separatists?" Luke questioned aloud, studying each of the huge Separatist ships he saw. Anakin nodded, a scowl marring his features.
"Those would be the Separatists." He confirmed, analyzing the blockade for any kind of weakness he could find. His eye caught onto the insignia on the ship furthest
from them and he let out a surprised huff. "What do you know? It's Grievous himself." He announced, mostly to himself.
"Grievous?" Luke repeated, looking to Anakin, hoping for an explanation.
"General Grievous. He, for whatever reason, holds a grudge against Obi-Wan. It's no surprise he's behind this." Anakin bitterly informed Luke, who blinked. He could feel the anger and flash of worry emanating from his Father's presence, and it worried him. His father, he was quick to observe, never reigned in his emotions, or controlled them. Sometimes, he would take a moment to calm himself, but most of the time, Anakin allowed his emotions to run wild. If he wasn't careful, Luke knew, it would cause a lot of trouble later on.
"I'm sure Master Kenobi is fine, Master Skywalker." Luke tried to appease his Father's worry. Master Skywalker...It was so odd to say that. He wanted to tell his Father everything, spill every one of his secrets out, but Luke knew that he couldn't. He couldn't let his Father know who he was. It was torture for Luke. After all, all he wanted in his life was to have his Father. But, Luke would settle for spending time with his Father without his Father knowing his true identity. If that was all the Force would allow, Luke would live with it.
'You would have loved this, Lariss.' Luke thought to himself, a sad smile finding its way on his lips. 'Spending time with Father...He's exactly the way you said he was...' Oh, how he missed her. He had kept in contact with Leia, seeing as they could miraculously still talk to one another through the bond, but Leia had told him that there was no sign of Lariss anywhere. Leia couldn't even sense her. It frightened them. Not knowing whether Lariss was alive or dead. In the short time that the two had gotten to know Lariss, the girl had immediately wormed her way into their hearts. Leia was ecstatic to learn she had an elder Sister, as was Luke. Lariss had immediately slipped into her role as being the eldest of the three, but she was very laid back.
Sometimes.
She gave them space when she knew they needed it and she was always empathetic. When trouble would rise and place either Luke or Leia in danger, Lariss was there to batter the threat down. Luke wondered what would have happened had Lariss not rescued him on Bespin. When Luke had learned that Vader was his Father, Luke had risked his life by jumping in order to escape. He would rather die than join the Dark Side. Lariss had jumped after him, grabbing hold of Luke and using the Force to push them into a ventilation shaft. They plummeted at least hundreds of feet before Lariss caught hold of the metal pole beneath Cloud City. Luke called for Leia through the Force, but he wasn't sure if she had heard him or not. Lariss refused to release Luke when her grip was slipping, determined to save her brother's life, and soon, Leia came with the Falcon. After ensuring Luke was safe and staying for his operation, Lariss left to return to Vader. It was then the Emperor learned of her betrayal and set out to kill her.
When Luke had found Lariss, he had thought it was too late. She was too severely injured. He had been convinced, for some time, that Lariss was on her death bed. But of course, Lariss pulled through. It was a miracle, and Luke thanked the Force for it. He couldn't bear losing anyone else. He had already lost so much...
"Hey, Luke,"
Luke shook his head when a voice broke through his thoughts, turning to find Anakin giving him a concerned glance.
"You alright?"
How many times had his Father asked him that? Casting Anakin a small smile, Luke nodded.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just...thinking." He offered as an excuse.
"Some thinking." Anakin commented, maneuvering the shuttle through the blockade. Luke was surprised. How had they made it this far through the blockade without being spotted? Anakin smirked, catching the look on Luke's face. "The Separatists are full of idiots. Their droids are practically useless." Anakin indicated to the massive ships they were passing. "Those ships are filled with droids. They aren't exactly the brightest..."
"If we've gotten this far without them seeing us, I would imagine so." Luke agreed. "Hopefully, it'll stay that way." He said under his breath, but Anakin heard him.
"You shouldn't have said-" Anakin began, but was interrupted when alarms suddenly wailed from the nearby Separatist ships and Anakin rolled his eyes.
"You just had to say that, didn't you?" He shook his head, tilting the wheel forward so the shuttle dived steeply.
"What?"
"You jinxed us." Anakin declared, but he didn't seem at all annoyed.
"I did?" Luke looked forward, not at all bothered by the suicidal manner Anakin was flying the shuttle. The shuttle twisted and spun through a group of vulture droids, somehow never getting hit by the onslaught of blaster fire that was shot their way.
"Oh well." Anakin shrugged, excitement evident as he sent the shuttle in yet another dive, twisting so they were gliding against the underbelly of one of the massive Separatist ships. "Think you could fend them off for a bit?"
Luke barely managed a nod when Anakin abruptly slammed on the brakes, sending Luke flailing forward in his seat. "Wh-What are you doing?!" Luke exclaimed, his heart pounding from the sudden stop, watching as the vulture droids breezed right past.
"Getting us out of this mess. Now, take care of those droids." Anakin replied, waiting for the vulture droids to curve round to fly at them. Luke huffed, scanning the control panel. He found the control to the ion canon and flicked it on, the miniature screen flickering to life not a second afterwards. He listened to the screaming of the vulture droids as they sped towards them, wondering what Anakin was waiting for. He watched the screen in front of him, waiting for the moment a vulture droid would come into target. Two of them just barely came into focus on the screen when Luke fired, a trill of exhilaration spiraling down his spine as he continued shooting down every enemy he could. "Nice shot." Anakin complimented when several vulture droids exploded, and Luke felt a flutter of pride from it. Anakin took this opportunity to press down on the accelerator, the shuttle jerking and suddenly flying through the explosion and diving sideways towards Felucia. Luke slammed back against his seat then felt his stomach churning when Anakin recklessly dove through another group of enemy crafts, weaving in and out of the maze of ships.
"We're almost there..." Anakin murmured, pushing the wheel forward, the shuttle slanting forward. Luke continued to fire the canons, bringing down enemy after enemy with ease. Inwardly celebrating each small victory he would achieve, Luke performed a small dance in his seat, earning an amused glance from Anakin. Luke flushed in embarrassment when Anakin chuckled at him. Thankfully, he was only 'fourteen,' so he could get away with his victory dance, but had he done that when he was his twenty-year old self and his Father caught him doing it...
"What?" Luke defensively said, but Anakin shook his head, laughing a bit.
"Nothing." The Jedi Knight replied and Luke shot him a disbelieving look. "You're just...an interesting kid, is all." Anakin smoothly said.
"You think I'm gonna believe that?" Luke scoffed. "You were laughing at me."
"I was not." Anakin lied, pretending to be affronted by the accusation. Luke glared and Anakin rolled his eyes. "Alright, so I was. But seriously..."
"I know." Luke grumbled, his sun-gold complexion turning a suspicious shade of red. That was when Luke destroyed another five vulture droids and punched the air in victory. "HAHA! I got them!" He cheered, haughtily peering down at the screen. "Too bad Han's not here to see that."
"Who's Han?" Anakin asked and Luke nearly cursed for the slip-up. Then, Luke was momentarily horrified that he had almost cursed that he forgot to answer Anakin's question. Because, Luke Skywalker never cursed. No. He absolutely abhorred cursing. It was one of the reasons he and Han would bicker while on missions.
"A smuggler I know." Luke replied, earning a raised eyebrow from Anakin.
"A smuggler?"
"Long story." Luke shrugged just as they entered the Felucia atmosphere. He peered over the panel and stared at all of the smoke they were greeted with as Anakin directed the shuttle to where they were supposed to meet Commander Cody. Anakin frowned deeply, worry creasing his brow.
"I suppose those are the bases they blew." Anakin grimly stated. Luke said nothing, staring at the pink-ish smoke that mixed with the black.
"And that would be the virus, um, thing?" He quietly asked, Anakin nodding in response.
"Unidentified aircraft, identify yourself." A voice cracked over the com. Anakin clicked on it and the blue figure of a Clone appeared.
"Commander Cody, this is Anakin Skywalker."
"General Skywalker!" Cody sounded rather relieved when he saw that it was indeed Anakin. "We've been waiting your arrival, sir."
"What's the situation?" Anakin asked, immediately getting down to business. Cody shook his head.
"Not good, General. General Kenobi is nowhere to be found, sir. My men have been searching for hours, but we haven't found any leads."
"I'll be there soon, Cody. We've just exited the atmosphere-" Anakin was interrupted when the shuttle abruptly jerked in the air, alarms blaring and red lights flashing, informing them that something had hit them. "What the?!"
Luke immediately looked to the radar. "Vulture droids!" He hissed, listening as they screamed past the shuttle. Anakin muttered something under his breath, something Luke suspected to be a Huttese curse, and yanked the wheel sharply to the left. The shuttle careened to the side as Anakin fought to control it.
"Sith! They've hit the right engine." Anakin growled, his hand flying over the controls above them, trying to turn on the emergency engine.
"General Skywalker?"
"Looks like we'll be a little late, Cody." Anakin told the Clone, and Luke was surprised by how calm Anakin was seeing as they were plummeting towards the ground. Another hit told Luke that the vulture droids had knocked out their other engine. "Well..." Anakin started as the craft started speeding downwards, making Luke scoot further into his seat. His stomach was twisting and knotting in a most uncomfortable manner and he did not like it. "Prepare yourself for a rough landing."
"Rough landing?" Luke repeated, incredulous. "The shuttle will explode if we hit!" He shut his eyes as the shuttle started spinning, his vision going wild from the sensation. Sure, he had his fair share of crash landings and being shot down, but he would never get used to it. Anakin pulled the wheel in his direction, forcing the shuttle to level out somewhat. "Force!" He grit his teeth together, watching as his Father continued to mess with several different buttons of varying colors, before his fist pounded against the panel.
"Force-forsaken piece of junk!" He insulted the shuttle. "I knew I shouldn't have taken you but you were the only thing I could get!" He swiveled around to face Luke. "Come on." He unbuckled himself and rushed out of the cockpit, Luke sprinting after him. They reached the cargo hold, Anakin slamming his hand against the button nearby. The carbon bay opened and Anakin ran to the platform, Luke close behind, realization dawning over the younger boy.
"We're...not jumping, are we?" He slowly asked, raising his head to look at Anakin.
"We don't have a choice." Anakin replied, in a tone that told Luke that he had done this plenty of times before. Luke hadn't. He'd only jumped twice with Lariss after one of their missions had gone wrong -surprise, surprise- and had only learned the basics of 'skydiving'-as Lariss called it. "Just stick close to me and you should be fine."
Luke threw him a disbelieving look. Since when are Skywalkers ever 'fine?' As in, safe and sound, cautious...never. Luke had yet to return from a mission unscathed! His record was four cuts. Lariss managed to leave a mission with one gash, much to Luke's dismay. The two always were having a competition with one another, and Luke wanted to be the first to come out with no injuries whatsoever. Anakin was silent as they watched the ground speed by as the shuttle tumbled through the air, calculating the correct height they should jump at. The fungi Luke could see blurred as they sped past, a mixture of blue, gold, and green flashing by.
"Ready?" Anakin shouted over the wind.
"As ready as I'll ever be!" Luke called in return. Anakin nodded and then leaped off of the platform, leaving Luke to watch him before remembering that he needed to follow. 'He tells me to stick close to him, but how can I if he keeps going ahead?' He grumbled in his mind, spreading his arms as he dived down. He tucked his arms against his sides, tilting himself forward in order to increase speed, leveling himself out a bit when he caught up with Anakin. Anakin pointed to a black dot below them, silently telling Luke that that was the base they were to meet Cody and the other Clones in. He nodded to tell Anakin he understood and followed the Knight as they continued to freefall through the air.
That was when Luke remembered something.
Something he should have told Anakin before they had jumped.
He had no idea how to land.
'Sithing kriffing-'
'LUKE SKYWALKER!'
Luke started when he heard Leia's voice thunder in his mind, scandalized.
'Oops...' Was all Luke could utter, before cheerfully greeting his sister in a cheerful manner. 'Hello to you too, Leia!'
'Luke, if I ever hear those words come out of your mouth again, I am going to-'
'Now's not the time, Leia. I need to concentrate.' Luke cut in, noticing that the ground was coming in faster than he would like.
'What are you doing?' Leia asked, curious.
'Skydiving. I'm on a mission with-' Luke then cut himself off. He knew Leia still held a healthy dose of hatred towards Vader after everything he had done to her. He and Lariss had both explained that Vader was not the same man as their Father, but Leia was still not comfortable enough to call him her Father. How would she react if he was to tell her that he was with their Father at this very moment?
'Wiiith?' Leia dragged the word out, pressing Luke to finish his sentence. He sighed, deciding it wouldn't be wise to hide anything from Leia. It would irk her to no end and she would continue to pester him until he gave her an answer to satisfy her curiosity.
'I'm with Father.'
He answered, waiting with dread for the response that was sure to come.
There was silence and Luke could sense Leia working with the shock she was feeling and the other emotions she was struggling with. There was uncertainty, slight fear, apprehension, and...The warming sensation of love was what struck Luke the most out of all those feelings.
'I'm happy for you, Luke.'
'Leia?' Came the confused reply.
'You've always wanted to know Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear. To tell you the truth, Luke...I have too.'
'But...Vader...'
Leia chuckled softly. 'I know. I've been thinking over everything you and Lariss have been telling me and I...I came to realize that the two of you are right. Vader wasn't our Father. I've had a lot of time to think over a lot, Luke. I'm sorry for before...The way I acted-'
'Your reaction was completely justifiable, Leia. Lariss and I understood your anger. There's no need to apologize.' Luke quickly assured Leia and felt himself grin when Leia gave an exasperated sigh.
'You're too kind, Luke. One of these days, your kindness will be the death of you. And your selflessness!'
'Better than being selfish.' Luke retorted.
'Yes, but, Luke! Sometimes, you need to look after yourself! i'm worried that you're going to hurt yourself one of these days or...Or never come back.'
There was silence as Luke mimicked Anakin's moves. He could sense his Father calling upon the Force to slow his descent and did the same, putting his hand out in front of him and using the Force to stop himself a few feet above the ground. Once his feet touched the ground, Luke inwardly celebrated his touchdown. He had actually managed to do it without any help! If only Lariss were there to see it.
"Come on, Luke." Anakin's voice sounded, breaking through Luke's thoughts. He turned to see Anakin already heading for the base and hurried to catch up.
'You don't need to worry about that, Leia. I know what I'm doing. I can change the future for the better.'
'Or the worse, Luke. Tread carefully,' Leia warned. 'We don't know exactly what transpired, what events caused our Father to fall. Lariss does but...' Leia trailed off, a pang of sorrow and worry echoing through the bond before she continued. 'Just be careful, Luke.' She said, stressing the word 'careful.' 'Who knows what could happen? If you do anything, you could trigger a chain of events that won't be irreversible. You have one shot at this.'
Luke sobered, understanding the importance and fragility of his task. He was treading on thin ice. One wrong move, and everything could shatter.
-CW-